Edit: Our friends over at Discussing Comics invited us again to talk about our movie picks. Listen to it right here!
2019 has some of the most anticipated films of all time scheduled to be released. From Marvel to Star Wars to Lego, when it comes to geek/nerd culture we’ve, got alot to work with this year at the box office. Here’s a rundown of the movies Reality Breached is most looking forward to in this new year.
Glass – 1/18/2019
First up, is the highly anticipated new film from M. Night Shyamalan. 2017’s Split was a surprise hit that kind of redefined what a Shyamalan film could be. On top of that, its late reveal as a pseudo-sequel to the 2000 film Unbreakable, reignited the flame of an almost forgotten cult hit. Glass brings together the characters from the two films in what is being billed as the final chapter of a trilogy. I don’t 100% trust Shyamalan, but he has shown a predilection to taking massive risks in his films. While his record may be spotty, his filmmaking style garners a level of respect most filmmakers haven’t earned. Glass will no doubt be at least interesting.
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part – 2/8/2019
Since their directorial debut in 2009, Phil Lord and Chris Miller have carved out a unique corner of Hollywood. Whether they are producing writing or directing, everything they’ve worked on has had a vibrant feel, ripe with joy. The first Lego Movie is the rare children’s movie that wasn’t as much a children’s movie as it was an everyone’s movie. Nearly every age range can relate to Lego, and while goofy and bombastic, it had a heart of gold. Lord and Miller aren’t directing this time around but the writing was handled by the team, and unless Part 2 is an anomaly, we can expect Emmitt’s most recent adventure to be well, like everything…awesome!
Captain Marvel – 3/8/2019
10 years in and Marvel Studios is finally releasing a female-fronted superhero movie (If you don’t count Ant-Man and the Wasp). For this, long over-due feat, they have pulled out the big guns with Oscar Winner, Brie Larson playing Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel. The film is set in the currently “en-vogue” ’90s and a young (due to CGI) Sam Jackson is reprising his role as a two-eyed Nick Fury. On paper, this sounds wonderful. The MCU has been playing in the cosmic landscape for years, so there’s never been a better time to dive into a deep Kree and Skulls story. The trailer looks fun and I know Larson has the chops to pull off the character, but so far I’m not impressed with her portrayal of Danvers. There’s just something about the way she’s delivering her lines…well see.
Shazam! – 4/5/2019
Following Justice League, I was sure the DC Extended Universe was dying. How do you recover from the abysmal reaction and performance of what was supposed to be your tent-pole release? DC’s answer is to soldier-on and drop the impressive Aquaman and borrow a page from the Marvel playbook and make Shazam!, a comedy. I don’t know too much about the character, but based on what I know, playing up the absurdity of the source material might be their best move. I like Zachary Levi, but I never in a million years would think of him as a movie star. Maybe Shazam! will change my mind, maybe it will further doom the DCEU, regardless there’s no denying the energy dripping from the impressive trailer.
Hellboy – 4/12/2019
The Ron Pearlman Hellboy movies of the ’00s hold a place in my heart that not many films do. Their seamless blend of humor, self-awareness, and aggro-stylings brought legitimacy to comic book movies that other production companies had yet to figure out. It’s nice to see a new Hellboy film and David Harbour absolutely looks the part. I can’t help but hate that this is a reboot when The Golden Army left so much to explore. Despite there being a lot of off-the-wall releases this year, for me, Hellboy has the most to prove.
Avengers: Endgame – 4/26/2019
What else can really be said about Avengers: Endgame? We finally have a name, we finally have a trailer, and yet we have zero answers. I take that back, we know Ant-Man made it out of the Quantum Realm and we know Hawkeye’s alive and now Ronin. But, how all of our favorite Avengers come back to life is still a mystery. You already know if you’re interested in this one and you’ll likely be lining up with me to grab tickets on day one.
Detective Pikachu – 5/10/2019
Did we need a live action Pokemon Movie with Ryan Reynolds playing Detective Pikachu? Probably not. Does the trailer for Detective Pikachu look like a Nintendo fan’s drunken fever-dream? Absolutely! Not since the Mario Bros. movie has a bigger risk been taken with beloved video game characters. Oddly enough, there’s a charm to the trailer for Detective Pikachu that brings the whole idea together for me. I don’t know if its the life-like Pokemon, or the familiar voice of Deadpool guiding me through what should actually be a nightmare, but I’m pretty stoked to see what kind of adventure they put together for the first live-action Pokemon movie.
Dark Phoenix – 6/7/2019
Pushed from 2018, Dark Phoenix is likely the last X-men Movie to star the current cast (Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, etc.) I can’t say I’ve been thrilled with that team’s output. X-Men: Apocalypse was a stinker of epic proportions. My interest in this one hasn’t changed much since last year’s write-up, but I’ll definitely be checking it out. I think it’s safe to say that the hype around the X-men getting integrated into the MCU is infinitely more interesting that this movie could ever be.
Men in Black: International – 6/14/2019
Its been 7 years since MIB3 and while both sequels never really lived up to the addictively engaging original film, the cache the Men in Black name carries is undeniable. Rather than opting for a full reboot, Sony has created a spin-off story starring agents in the UK branch of the MIB. This is probably a smart move considering Sony would drop everything and reload the original continuity if Will Smith expressed interest in returning to his role of Jay. As for this film, they seem to have assembled the right parts to make it a success. Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson (both from Thor: Ragnarok) and Liam Neeson round out the generally likable cast and F. Gary Gray has a good track record of both action films and funny films. With MIB being one of my favorite film settings, I really what this film to be good…crosses fingers.
Spider-Man: Far From Home – 7/5/2019
Coming off arguably the best Spider-man year of all time, 2019 has the next installment of the MCU canon Spider-man series. Unfortunately, with the way movie production works, the existence of Far From Home has already spoiled the end of Avengers: Endgame. However, considering the high quality of the Spider-man: Homecoming, it’s hard to care about what’s been spoiled. Since no trailer has been released (Edit: see trailer below), we don’t know much about Far From Home. Seeing as much of the production is being handled by the same team as Homecoming, I’m optimistic about where Peter Parker’s character is going. The wait for a trailer is getting quite annoying, come on, just give it to us…spoilers be damned!!!!
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw – 8/2/2019
Not your typical Geek/Nerd film, but considering the mileage (pun-intended) ReBre has gotten out of the Fast and Furious series, its anticipated spin-off really needs to be on this list. Fate of the Furious ends on an odd family scene with Jason Statham’s character Deckard Shaw delivering Dominic Torretto his kidnapped and estranged baby, before sharing a Corona. Sure Shaw saved Dom’s kid, but he also killed Han…so…for a series that’s hyper-interested in living in its own ass, before Shaw is christened as a new family member, some things need to be discussed. I don’t think that will be handled in this spin-off, but after the events of Fast 8, this film almost writes itself. Unfortunately, I have to wait until August to see more Fast and Furious action.
The New Mutants – 8/2/2019
Another X-Men film pushed out of 2018 by 20th Century Fox. Many assumed it would be canceled with the buy-out, but I don’t know, shelving a completed film and forgoing any money it would have made, regardless of quality, isn’t really Disney’s MO. Once the buy-out is complete, I can totally see this movie dropping to the Disney streaming service as a top-tier exclusive, but full on cancellation is not gonna happen. As for our anticipation, nothing has changed since last year.
Joker – 10/4/2019
Who wants this movie, really…who wants it? Is it canon? Is Batman in it? Why is a 44-year-old man playing Joker in a Joker ORIGIN movie? Jared Leto is 47 which means…wait, Jared Leto is 47 years old? How does this movie create more questions about the Joker, the DCEU, Jared Leto’s Vampirism, and the exploitation of geek-culture all at the same time? Also, its reportedly set in 1981, so is this an origin story for the Nicholson Joker? It’s exhausting just thinking about this movie. Much last year’s Venom, I find it hard to see a need for this film and can’t imagine a world where it is actually good. However, movies that are this bad of an idea rarely get made, so maybe there is something to a Joker story, who knows?
Sonic the Hedgehog – 11/8/2019
Remember when I said that Detective Pikachu was the riskiest video game movie since Mario Bros? Well, Sonic the Hedgehog might just give it a RUN for its money (Man! My puns are on-point today!). I don’t even know where to start here. From the bizarre looking silhouette poster to the possibly brilliant casting of Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik, everything about this film sounds like a beautiful train-wreck. My only regret is I don’t have a trailer to show you yet. with a November release date, we should get a trailer soon…then and only then can the nightmare truly begin.
Star Wars: Episode IX – 12/20/2019
The Last Jedi was arguably the most divisive Star Wars of all time. By the time Episode IX comes out, it will have been a long 2-year wait for its follow-up. With JJ back at the helm, we’ll probably see a film with mass-appeal, but my biggest concern is if it will have teeth. Say what you want about The Last Jedi, but it was bold and in many ways gutsy. Little is known and there is no trailer in sight, but Episode IX has an uphill battle.
That’ll do it! I’ll try to update this article when more trailers are released. If you liked this rundown, drop us a line on Facebook and let us know what movies you’re most looking forward to this year.